Archive for December 19th, 2009

The trials of [radio personality Hal] Turner might not have invited any media interest had he been another lone wolf howling into the night about the swarthy evildoers supposedly destroying America. After all, white supremacists across the country are persistently prosecuted for activities ranging from criminal littering to murder. But Turner has been an insider both in the New Jersey GOP and in a controversial federal anti-terror program designed to “flush out” violent far-right plots, making him a treasure trove of information on the many prominent Republicans he has associated with over the years. These characters include Turner’s former friend Sean Hannity, who allegedly counseled him on overcoming his cocaine habit and homosexual urges, and New Jersey Governor-elect Chris Christie, whose alleged involvement with Turner may result in the first scandal of his term.

A point for Micheletti. In the face of evidence from the DNIC (Honduran cops), he has admitted that his accusation against the resistance for the murder of Nicolle Cabrera may not be correct. And a point against him: he said he had to make the accusation because Carol Cabrera told him that she had been threatened by the resistance. The resistance believes that the deaths of several of their leaders are a consequence of Micheletti’s accusation. And they are very likely right.

Update: RNS analyzes State Department human rights policy. According to a speech by Hillary Clinton, there are four elements:
1) stick to universal rights with accountability (though sometimes accountability in private)
2) pragmatic, case-by-case applications
3) support citizens in their attempts to change their communities
4) include both places formerly abandoned as intractable and reinforce places where “hope is on the rise.”
So, does the State Department record support having done any of this with respect to Honduras? In a word, no. In public statements, they’ve barely mentioned human rights, and have done so only in the vaguest of terms. For the most part, they’ve denied knowing about human rights violations, and they’ve always denied knowing about murders and kidnappings. They claim to only know about disproportionate use of force and restriction of freedom of expression. Murder and kidnapping could, I suppose, be called either disproportionate use of force and restriction of freedom of expression, but a better term would be “completely unacceptable.”